US eyes higher refugee numbers

The United States may increase the current quota of refugees permitted into the country annually, which is now at a historic low of 7,500 people, a State Department official said Thursday.

US President Donald Trump drastically cut the number of refugees for the fiscal year 2026 from the 125,000 recorded the previous year, and most of the recently admitted refugees are white farmers from South Africa.

Washington approved their applications on the claim that white South Africans risk death and face discrimination, a claim refuted by Pretoria.

“Not to get ahead of the White House, the President, on this, it’s ultimately his decision, but I think definitely we are looking to think about it the next fiscal year, but also before that,” said Andrew Veprek, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

“We’re looking at the pace of resettlement right now and thinking about how it is going.”

Veprek declined to confirm whether the refugee entry quota might be expanded to other nationalities or ethnic groups.

Speaking at a Centre for Immigration Studies event, Veprek noted the responsibility for refugee resettlement in the US shifted to the Department of Health and Human Services in January.

Control over immigration is one of Trump’s flagship issues, and his crackdown on illegal immigrants through raids and deportations was accompanied by restrictions on the legal entry of migrants and skilled workers.

Many of the new restrictions have been challenged in court, and the US Supreme Court is expected to rule on a number of matters, including the blocked entry of asylum seekers at the Mexican border and the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Haitians and Syrians.

Veprek said current policies will remain in place and negotiations to have other countries readmit their expelled nationals are ongoing.

“Venezuela, for example, Venezuelans want to go home. The government of Venezuela wants Venezuelans to go home, and we want them to go.”